New York, NY - It’s a pretty thrilling time to be a craft beer lover in New York City. We have a handful of internationally recognized breweries to our name -- Sixpoint, Greenpoint Beer Works, the legendary Brooklyn Brewery -- and a heady array of bars pouring all-craft brews. For those seeking a special bottle to pair with dinner, a crowd-pleasing six-pack, or a seasonal growler, our city also offers an irresistible selection of combination bottle shops and growler stations.
We weren’t always so lucky, though.
Thanks to the draconian series of laws that form the vestiges of Prohibition’s legacy, opening a store in New York that’s purely devoted to craft beer is still far more difficult than it should be. New York State simply doesn’t allow beer-only stores the way that wine and liquor stores are permitted, and requires that merchants secure one of several licenses – grocery, drug store, eating place – to even stock their shelves with suds. Establishing a bottle shop and growler station involves navigating a labyrinthine series of legal hurdles. Selling beer in New York isn’t just difficult – it’s practically illicit.
However those obstacles have not stopped determined beer entrepreneurs from innovating. We’ve rounded up six beer shops that not only managed to overcome the difficulty of just opening their doors but have elevated the format with their hundreds-deep bottle inventories, knowledgeable staffs, and some of NYC’s best tap lines. And, as further evidence of the flourishing local craft beer scene, two of the five shops featured on this list opened within the past eight months. If that’s not the sign of a positive trend, we don’t know what is.
We weren’t always so lucky, though.
Thanks to the draconian series of laws that form the vestiges of Prohibition’s legacy, opening a store in New York that’s purely devoted to craft beer is still far more difficult than it should be. New York State simply doesn’t allow beer-only stores the way that wine and liquor stores are permitted, and requires that merchants secure one of several licenses – grocery, drug store, eating place – to even stock their shelves with suds. Establishing a bottle shop and growler station involves navigating a labyrinthine series of legal hurdles. Selling beer in New York isn’t just difficult – it’s practically illicit.
However those obstacles have not stopped determined beer entrepreneurs from innovating. We’ve rounded up six beer shops that not only managed to overcome the difficulty of just opening their doors but have elevated the format with their hundreds-deep bottle inventories, knowledgeable staffs, and some of NYC’s best tap lines. And, as further evidence of the flourishing local craft beer scene, two of the five shops featured on this list opened within the past eight months. If that’s not the sign of a positive trend, we don’t know what is.
Breukelen Bier Merchants
Breukelen Bier Merchants was founded a little over a year ago when financial professionals Greg Golembioski, his wife Renee Esposito, and her cousin Denise Kubovic decided that it was time to take a break from their day jobs and take a risk. Says Kubovic, “We were at a point in our professional lives when we wanted to examine what to do next. When we examined our passion for [craft beer], we started bouncing around the idea of ‘what if?’”
It wasn’t long before Breukelen Bier Merchants morphed from pipe dream into reality. After a solid six months of researching the best way to get around the state’s liquor laws, the three moved to open the store in its current location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Though the shop’s founding was originally spearheaded by Golembioski and Esposito, devotees of craft beer known for embarking on brewery-centric vacations, Kubovic’s interest grew into comparable passion. Today, she works directly with younger breweries to keep the shelves stocked with new names in the industry.
Visitors to Breukelen Bier Merchants, whose name and wall mural of the borough are an homage to Brooklyn’s brewing history, will find a store that’s part homey neighborhood bar and part upscale tasting room. A bottle selection of over 500 choices favors in-season, American-made craft stunners, while an ever-rotating selection of 16 draught pours can be gulped indoors or carted off in a growler. Knowledgeable staffers weigh in on issues ranging from the season’s best pumpkin beers to which bottle would go best with that chicken dinner, and handy rating cards from Beer Advocate bearing descriptions of different bottles assist novices in their selection processes.
With a majority of its customers hailing from nearby environs, the store is also noteworthy for its cozy atmosphere. Locals roost for hours on its back benches, accompanied by a selection of board games, Sigmund’s pretzels, and cheese plates. Breukelen Bier Merchants also wins points for its bi-weekly visiting brewery tap takeovers and its tap handles, which are coated in chalkboard paint for quick revisions every time a keg is changed.
Contact Info:
182 Grand Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(347) 457-6350
http://breukelenbiermerchants.com/
Twitter: @BreukelenBier
Breukelen Bier Merchants was founded a little over a year ago when financial professionals Greg Golembioski, his wife Renee Esposito, and her cousin Denise Kubovic decided that it was time to take a break from their day jobs and take a risk. Says Kubovic, “We were at a point in our professional lives when we wanted to examine what to do next. When we examined our passion for [craft beer], we started bouncing around the idea of ‘what if?’”
It wasn’t long before Breukelen Bier Merchants morphed from pipe dream into reality. After a solid six months of researching the best way to get around the state’s liquor laws, the three moved to open the store in its current location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Though the shop’s founding was originally spearheaded by Golembioski and Esposito, devotees of craft beer known for embarking on brewery-centric vacations, Kubovic’s interest grew into comparable passion. Today, she works directly with younger breweries to keep the shelves stocked with new names in the industry.
Visitors to Breukelen Bier Merchants, whose name and wall mural of the borough are an homage to Brooklyn’s brewing history, will find a store that’s part homey neighborhood bar and part upscale tasting room. A bottle selection of over 500 choices favors in-season, American-made craft stunners, while an ever-rotating selection of 16 draught pours can be gulped indoors or carted off in a growler. Knowledgeable staffers weigh in on issues ranging from the season’s best pumpkin beers to which bottle would go best with that chicken dinner, and handy rating cards from Beer Advocate bearing descriptions of different bottles assist novices in their selection processes.
With a majority of its customers hailing from nearby environs, the store is also noteworthy for its cozy atmosphere. Locals roost for hours on its back benches, accompanied by a selection of board games, Sigmund’s pretzels, and cheese plates. Breukelen Bier Merchants also wins points for its bi-weekly visiting brewery tap takeovers and its tap handles, which are coated in chalkboard paint for quick revisions every time a keg is changed.
Contact Info:
182 Grand Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(347) 457-6350
http://breukelenbiermerchants.com/
Twitter: @BreukelenBier
Brouwerij Lane
Brouwerij Lane stands out from the other buildings on its Greenpoint, Brooklyn block: the petite bottle shop sports a Belgian stepped-gable roof in additional to its Flemish name. Inside its delightfully incongruous exterior can be found roughly 200 bottles, depending on the season, as well as 19 taps.
Opened three and a half years ago by Ed Raven, the shop could very well be considered part of the old guard now, so fast has the pace of growth in the New York craft beer scene been. However, Brouwerij Lane didn’t always aspire to lead the way among the bottle shop and growler station set. In fact, the store has found a rather unique solution to New York’s licensing quandary: Brouwerij Lane is technically a distributor, and operates strictly on a wholesale license.
Raven, whose company Raven Import Co. specializes in bringing bottles like Gaffel Kolsch and Jever Pilsner to the American market, first envisioned Brouwerij Lane as a brick-and-mortar location for his import business. When it first opened, the store differed from its current incarnation in its product breadth: originally featuring fewer bottles to go and just 10 taps, as well as a number of macrobrewed beers, the store has today grown to inhabit a craft-only, tasting room ideology.
Cofounder Erik Olsen weighed in on Brouwerij Lane’s shift in mentality: “If you can get it around the corner, we shouldn’t have it. You can get it anywhere, and we want to be something special. We quickly realized that. Same thing with draught. We had Newcastle, beers that people don’t want in a growler. People want something that they’ve never had before or never heard of, that’s more appealing. It goes back to our draught lineup – half is really approachable stuff, and half we like to push people and challenge their taste buds. It’s a lot about educating the neighborhood.”
Brouwerij Lane’s staff of friendly aficionados estimates that half of their customers do come from the neighborhood, rendering it a uniquely well-stocked public house. Other features designed to benefit the local set include its dog-friendly policy, its backyard lounging area, as well as its brewery-specific and style-specific tasting and educational events.
Contact Info:
78 Greenpoint Avenue
NY 11222
(347) 529-6133
http://brouwerijlane.com/
Twitter: @BrouwerijLane
Brouwerij Lane stands out from the other buildings on its Greenpoint, Brooklyn block: the petite bottle shop sports a Belgian stepped-gable roof in additional to its Flemish name. Inside its delightfully incongruous exterior can be found roughly 200 bottles, depending on the season, as well as 19 taps.
Opened three and a half years ago by Ed Raven, the shop could very well be considered part of the old guard now, so fast has the pace of growth in the New York craft beer scene been. However, Brouwerij Lane didn’t always aspire to lead the way among the bottle shop and growler station set. In fact, the store has found a rather unique solution to New York’s licensing quandary: Brouwerij Lane is technically a distributor, and operates strictly on a wholesale license.
Raven, whose company Raven Import Co. specializes in bringing bottles like Gaffel Kolsch and Jever Pilsner to the American market, first envisioned Brouwerij Lane as a brick-and-mortar location for his import business. When it first opened, the store differed from its current incarnation in its product breadth: originally featuring fewer bottles to go and just 10 taps, as well as a number of macrobrewed beers, the store has today grown to inhabit a craft-only, tasting room ideology.
Cofounder Erik Olsen weighed in on Brouwerij Lane’s shift in mentality: “If you can get it around the corner, we shouldn’t have it. You can get it anywhere, and we want to be something special. We quickly realized that. Same thing with draught. We had Newcastle, beers that people don’t want in a growler. People want something that they’ve never had before or never heard of, that’s more appealing. It goes back to our draught lineup – half is really approachable stuff, and half we like to push people and challenge their taste buds. It’s a lot about educating the neighborhood.”
Brouwerij Lane’s staff of friendly aficionados estimates that half of their customers do come from the neighborhood, rendering it a uniquely well-stocked public house. Other features designed to benefit the local set include its dog-friendly policy, its backyard lounging area, as well as its brewery-specific and style-specific tasting and educational events.
Contact Info:
78 Greenpoint Avenue
NY 11222
(347) 529-6133
http://brouwerijlane.com/
Twitter: @BrouwerijLane
Good Beer
Good Beer was founded two years ago by David Cichowicz, an ex-publishing industry veteran who found himself needing to make the choice between scrounging for jobs in an ever-diminishing print sector or fleeing the field entirely to start his own business. The decision wasn’t difficult for Cichowicz, who had also spent years working independently in music: beer won.
Good Beer’s name says it all. Located down a half-flight of stairs on a quiet East Village block, the shop stocks a whopping 700 or so bottles and 12 ever-rotating taps – virtually every American independent craft brewery that distributes in New York is represented. Visitors are welcome to fill a growler with their tipple of choice, while those who prefer to perch indoors can select from pints, flights, and a range of nibbles.
Having come of age at the beginning of the craft beer revolution, Cichowicz first honed his teenaged palate on Sierra Nevada and Brooklyn before branching out to favorite craft breweries like Founders and Firestone Walker. Today, he refuses to carry non-craft brews – even quasi-indies like Goose Island, purchased by Anheuser Busch last year, get the boot.
When it came time to choose a location for his project, the East Village was a natural fit. A resident of the neighborhood for roughly 15 years, Cichowicz frequently wondered why no craft beer specialists had yet sprung up in the East Village when they were flourishing in neighboring Brooklyn. In establishing Good Beer, he not only sought to fill a hole in the neighborhood, but to link to other businesses in the city. Most of the food served in Good Beer is sourced directly from small New York producers, and the store also bears various green and organic certifications.
Above all, what’s essential is keeping Good Beer local, Cichowicz says. “I think we fit in perfectly in the East Village. It’s very casual, it’s very down-to-earth. We actually refuse to do private parties here – I’m never going to put a sign on my door that says ‘Closed for private party,’ because this is the neighborhood beer store. This is the place where I want people to be able to get their growler at any time, get their six-pack at any time, and not have to worry about us being closed.”
Contact Info:
422 East 9th Street
New York, NY 10009
(212) 677-4836
http://www.facebook.com/goodbeernyc
Twitter: @GoodBeerNYC
Good Beer was founded two years ago by David Cichowicz, an ex-publishing industry veteran who found himself needing to make the choice between scrounging for jobs in an ever-diminishing print sector or fleeing the field entirely to start his own business. The decision wasn’t difficult for Cichowicz, who had also spent years working independently in music: beer won.
Good Beer’s name says it all. Located down a half-flight of stairs on a quiet East Village block, the shop stocks a whopping 700 or so bottles and 12 ever-rotating taps – virtually every American independent craft brewery that distributes in New York is represented. Visitors are welcome to fill a growler with their tipple of choice, while those who prefer to perch indoors can select from pints, flights, and a range of nibbles.
Having come of age at the beginning of the craft beer revolution, Cichowicz first honed his teenaged palate on Sierra Nevada and Brooklyn before branching out to favorite craft breweries like Founders and Firestone Walker. Today, he refuses to carry non-craft brews – even quasi-indies like Goose Island, purchased by Anheuser Busch last year, get the boot.
When it came time to choose a location for his project, the East Village was a natural fit. A resident of the neighborhood for roughly 15 years, Cichowicz frequently wondered why no craft beer specialists had yet sprung up in the East Village when they were flourishing in neighboring Brooklyn. In establishing Good Beer, he not only sought to fill a hole in the neighborhood, but to link to other businesses in the city. Most of the food served in Good Beer is sourced directly from small New York producers, and the store also bears various green and organic certifications.
Above all, what’s essential is keeping Good Beer local, Cichowicz says. “I think we fit in perfectly in the East Village. It’s very casual, it’s very down-to-earth. We actually refuse to do private parties here – I’m never going to put a sign on my door that says ‘Closed for private party,’ because this is the neighborhood beer store. This is the place where I want people to be able to get their growler at any time, get their six-pack at any time, and not have to worry about us being closed.”
Contact Info:
422 East 9th Street
New York, NY 10009
(212) 677-4836
http://www.facebook.com/goodbeernyc
Twitter: @GoodBeerNYC
The Growler Station
The Growler Station may be relatively new to the New York craft scene, having opened its doors in January, but its high-tech growler system makes it a standout. While its 300 bottles are impressive, its 24 taps, which run through a unique counter-pressure system sourced from Siberia (no kidding!), are the store’s main draw.
The seed for The Growler Station was first planted at the Connecticut-based brewpub chain Southport Brewing Company, where two of the shop’s five owners worked. The two had noticed that growler sales were dwindling, while customers complained that the growlers they did take home quickly lost carbonation. In seeking a solution, they stumbled upon a manufacturer in Siberia who claimed to have invented a new technology that could keep unopened growlers fresh for up to a year.
Curious, the two purchased a sample machine to see the system in action, and were happily rewarded for their risky investment. The counter pressure machine effectively bottles growlers, forcing out oxygen and adding in carbon dioxide and then beer, which allows them to stay fresh in the back of the fridge for an unprecedented eight months to a year.
While visitors can’t yet drink inside the shop, The Growler Station also offers 2 liter plastic “beasts,” for those times when extra portable beer is required. For those impatient to order in-store tasting flights, manager Donald Fox assures customers, many of whom include NYU students and other West Village denizens, that the store will likely have secured a license to serve by December.
Contact Info:
26 West 8th Street
New York, NY 10011
(212) 777-2337
http://growler-station.com/nyc/
Twitter: @GrowlerStnNYC
Top Hops
Top Hops is this list’s second newbie, having flung open its doors to its Lower East Side neighbors in early January. This airplane hangar-shaped spot welcomes drinkers into its high-design midst, with sloping ceilings and a shelf of beer books for imbibers seeking reading material, and also offers cheese plates, olives, beef jerky, and pretzels for casual grazers.
The store was first envisioned by owner Ted Kenny over a year ago. A finance professional who had spent the past five years working as a marketing account manager at Anheuser Busch, Kenny had harbored a passion for craft beer for upwards of 20 years (despite his macro employ). In imagining the best way to showcase craft beer in New York City, he turned to the city’s other culinary outposts: “There are great specialty stores in New York – specialty cheese stores, great wine stores, but there really weren’t any great beer stores. People would buy their beer from bodegas and grocery stores, but they really didn’t have much of a selection.”
That’s where Top Hops comes in. With a three-pronged mission of retail, tasting, and education, the store hosts a variety of pairing events and informal brew classes while offering 20 taps, shelves full of growlers, and cases stocked with 650 bottles. It caters both to its Lower East Side neighbors as well as international visitors who flock to the neighboring Tenement Museum: Kenny reports that the shop has received write-ups in both Swedish and Japanese newspapers, to-date.
Amusingly, though Kenny had spent the past 16 years in New York City, he had never visited the neighborhood until he began searching for bottle shop real estate: “I had never come south of Delancey, this far east. I was blown away by the neighborhood, and told my wife: ‘I was just in the coolest neighborhood in New York City, and neither one of us has ever been there!”’ In a nod to New York neighborhoods even further afield, Top Hops strives to carry as many local brews as possible, with recent appearances from Rockaway Brewing, Bronx Brewery, Alphabet City Brewing Co., and Chelsea Brewing Company, among others.
Contact Info:
94 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 254-4677
http://tophops.com/
Twitter: @TopHops
Learn more about these bottle shops, the breweries and the craft beer scene here in NYC on one of Urban Oyster's Craft Beer Themed Tours.
Story by Claire Bullen
Photos by Gray Beltran
The Growler Station may be relatively new to the New York craft scene, having opened its doors in January, but its high-tech growler system makes it a standout. While its 300 bottles are impressive, its 24 taps, which run through a unique counter-pressure system sourced from Siberia (no kidding!), are the store’s main draw.
The seed for The Growler Station was first planted at the Connecticut-based brewpub chain Southport Brewing Company, where two of the shop’s five owners worked. The two had noticed that growler sales were dwindling, while customers complained that the growlers they did take home quickly lost carbonation. In seeking a solution, they stumbled upon a manufacturer in Siberia who claimed to have invented a new technology that could keep unopened growlers fresh for up to a year.
Curious, the two purchased a sample machine to see the system in action, and were happily rewarded for their risky investment. The counter pressure machine effectively bottles growlers, forcing out oxygen and adding in carbon dioxide and then beer, which allows them to stay fresh in the back of the fridge for an unprecedented eight months to a year.
While visitors can’t yet drink inside the shop, The Growler Station also offers 2 liter plastic “beasts,” for those times when extra portable beer is required. For those impatient to order in-store tasting flights, manager Donald Fox assures customers, many of whom include NYU students and other West Village denizens, that the store will likely have secured a license to serve by December.
Contact Info:
26 West 8th Street
New York, NY 10011
(212) 777-2337
http://growler-station.com/nyc/
Twitter: @GrowlerStnNYC
Top Hops
Top Hops is this list’s second newbie, having flung open its doors to its Lower East Side neighbors in early January. This airplane hangar-shaped spot welcomes drinkers into its high-design midst, with sloping ceilings and a shelf of beer books for imbibers seeking reading material, and also offers cheese plates, olives, beef jerky, and pretzels for casual grazers.
The store was first envisioned by owner Ted Kenny over a year ago. A finance professional who had spent the past five years working as a marketing account manager at Anheuser Busch, Kenny had harbored a passion for craft beer for upwards of 20 years (despite his macro employ). In imagining the best way to showcase craft beer in New York City, he turned to the city’s other culinary outposts: “There are great specialty stores in New York – specialty cheese stores, great wine stores, but there really weren’t any great beer stores. People would buy their beer from bodegas and grocery stores, but they really didn’t have much of a selection.”
That’s where Top Hops comes in. With a three-pronged mission of retail, tasting, and education, the store hosts a variety of pairing events and informal brew classes while offering 20 taps, shelves full of growlers, and cases stocked with 650 bottles. It caters both to its Lower East Side neighbors as well as international visitors who flock to the neighboring Tenement Museum: Kenny reports that the shop has received write-ups in both Swedish and Japanese newspapers, to-date.
Amusingly, though Kenny had spent the past 16 years in New York City, he had never visited the neighborhood until he began searching for bottle shop real estate: “I had never come south of Delancey, this far east. I was blown away by the neighborhood, and told my wife: ‘I was just in the coolest neighborhood in New York City, and neither one of us has ever been there!”’ In a nod to New York neighborhoods even further afield, Top Hops strives to carry as many local brews as possible, with recent appearances from Rockaway Brewing, Bronx Brewery, Alphabet City Brewing Co., and Chelsea Brewing Company, among others.
Contact Info:
94 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 254-4677
http://tophops.com/
Twitter: @TopHops
Learn more about these bottle shops, the breweries and the craft beer scene here in NYC on one of Urban Oyster's Craft Beer Themed Tours.
Story by Claire Bullen
Photos by Gray Beltran
Top Hops
Top Hops is this list’s second newbie, having flung open its doors to its Lower East Side neighbors in early January. This airplane hangar-shaped spot welcomes drinkers into its high-design midst, with sloping ceilings and a shelf of beer books for imbibers seeking reading material, and also offers cheese plates, olives, beef jerky, and pretzels for casual grazers.
The store was first envisioned by owner Ted Kenny over a year ago. A finance professional who had spent the past five years working as a marketing account manager at Anheuser Busch, Kenny had harbored a passion for craft beer for upwards of 20 years (despite his macro employ). In imagining the best way to showcase craft beer in New York City, he turned to the city’s other culinary outposts: “There are great specialty stores in New York – specialty cheese stores, great wine stores, but there really weren’t any great beer stores. People would buy their beer from bodegas and grocery stores, but they really didn’t have much of a selection.”
That’s where Top Hops comes in. With a three-pronged mission of retail, tasting, and education, the store hosts a variety of pairing events and informal brew classes while offering 20 taps, shelves full of growlers, and cases stocked with 650 bottles. It caters both to its Lower East Side neighbors as well as international visitors who flock to the neighboring Tenement Museum: Kenny reports that the shop has received write-ups in both Swedish and Japanese newspapers, to-date.
Amusingly, though Kenny had spent the past 16 years in New York City, he had never visited the neighborhood until he began searching for bottle shop real estate: “I had never come south of Delancey, this far east. I was blown away by the neighborhood, and told my wife: ‘I was just in the coolest neighborhood in New York City, and neither one of us has ever been there!”’ In a nod to New York neighborhoods even further afield, Top Hops strives to carry as many local brews as possible, with recent appearances from Rockaway Brewing, Bronx Brewery, Alphabet City Brewing Co., and Chelsea Brewing Company, among others.
Contact Info:
94 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 254-4677
http://tophops.com/
Twitter: @TopHops
Learn more about these bottle shops, the breweries and the craft beer scene here in NYC on one of Urban Oyster's Craft Beer Themed Tours.
Story by Claire Bullen
Photos by Gray Beltran
Top Hops is this list’s second newbie, having flung open its doors to its Lower East Side neighbors in early January. This airplane hangar-shaped spot welcomes drinkers into its high-design midst, with sloping ceilings and a shelf of beer books for imbibers seeking reading material, and also offers cheese plates, olives, beef jerky, and pretzels for casual grazers.
The store was first envisioned by owner Ted Kenny over a year ago. A finance professional who had spent the past five years working as a marketing account manager at Anheuser Busch, Kenny had harbored a passion for craft beer for upwards of 20 years (despite his macro employ). In imagining the best way to showcase craft beer in New York City, he turned to the city’s other culinary outposts: “There are great specialty stores in New York – specialty cheese stores, great wine stores, but there really weren’t any great beer stores. People would buy their beer from bodegas and grocery stores, but they really didn’t have much of a selection.”
That’s where Top Hops comes in. With a three-pronged mission of retail, tasting, and education, the store hosts a variety of pairing events and informal brew classes while offering 20 taps, shelves full of growlers, and cases stocked with 650 bottles. It caters both to its Lower East Side neighbors as well as international visitors who flock to the neighboring Tenement Museum: Kenny reports that the shop has received write-ups in both Swedish and Japanese newspapers, to-date.
Amusingly, though Kenny had spent the past 16 years in New York City, he had never visited the neighborhood until he began searching for bottle shop real estate: “I had never come south of Delancey, this far east. I was blown away by the neighborhood, and told my wife: ‘I was just in the coolest neighborhood in New York City, and neither one of us has ever been there!”’ In a nod to New York neighborhoods even further afield, Top Hops strives to carry as many local brews as possible, with recent appearances from Rockaway Brewing, Bronx Brewery, Alphabet City Brewing Co., and Chelsea Brewing Company, among others.
Contact Info:
94 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 254-4677
http://tophops.com/
Twitter: @TopHops
Learn more about these bottle shops, the breweries and the craft beer scene here in NYC on one of Urban Oyster's Craft Beer Themed Tours.
Story by Claire Bullen
Photos by Gray Beltran